Monday, April 17, 2017

Losing the Plot

I was so interested in Sybil's post about organising those invaluable random thoughts that occur to us and might even, one day, spark an idea for a whole book. I too have these scrappy bits of paper – ideas don't tend to come handily when you're sitting at your desk with a neat notebook or a computer file marked 'Inspiration' readily to hand.

My practice has been to chuck them into a box – a Tiffany's box, in fact, which I couldn't bear to throw away – and on one of those bleak days when no beautiful idea possesses me I tip the whole lot out on to my desk and sort through.  Surprisingly often, I find that there's been a subconscious theme to these bits and pieces and some of them hang together and point to a plot line that's worth pursuing.

When it comes to a WIP, I do try to be more systematic. For the series, I keep a file of names, dobs, physical characteristics and so on but for a long time there were piles, too, of plot development thoughts that occurred while I was writing and I scribbled down on a sheets of paper – recycled, naturally! – which then did their very best to get themselves lost among all the other things on my untidy desk.

This time, I vowed it would be different. Like Sybil, I got myself a book and put all the snatches of ideas, plot line, one or two pivotal scenes, details of characters and research background in it together. It's certainly a more efficient system.

But then I was inspired to tidy my desk. This doesn't often happen but just once in a while I realise I've forgotten what the surface looks like and think it might be nice to reacquaint myself with it. I had a proper clear out, and then we went away on holiday. When I came back, there was a beautiful tidy desk.

But when I sat down to work, I realised the book wasn't in its usual place. I ransacked my study. I ransacked my husband's study, darkly suspecting he might have picked it up by accident. I ransacked the house, looking in more and more improbable places. Twice.

It had gone, swept up with something else and put in the recycling bin that was emptied while we were away.   It was a bad blow, and I had no one to blame but myself. It should, of course, have made me vow to keep my desk tidy. In fact it's made me swear I'll never, ever, tidy it again. Well, probably I will sometime, but much more carefully.

But like Sybil having to find that one perfect sentence, there was quite a lot of original material in that book that I'd been pleased with, at least at the time, and that's getting in the way of the replicating I have to get down to now. I keep feeling that it just won't be as good as what I wrote before.

I may well be wrong about the lost material. There have been times when I've found something I'd misplaced after a long search and been quite disappointed with what I had thought was a sparkling piece of writing. So I just have to remind myself of that.

Sybil, I do hope you find your perfect sentence. But if you don't, I hope you can convince yourself that its replacement is even better.

15 comments:

Eileen Goudge said...

Happens to the best of us, Aline. I'm a chronic tidier and thus am perpetually looking for something I tossed out unintentionally. Maybe next time I'll set aside the stuff for the recycling bin before I toss it.

Aline Templeton said...

Good advice, Eileen. It's a chore I hate so I probably make the mistake of hurrying to get it over with.

Sybil Johnson said...

Ah, Aline, I feel for you. I still haven't found that sentence. I suspect when I do it won't be as perfect as I remembered. Still, I have hope.

Rick Blechta said...

What does "dobs" mean (paragraph 3)? Date Of Birth(S)?

And I can't tell you the valuable stuff I've accidentally sent out the door.

Then there was the time I left my French horn on a train. What a horror that was. I still have nightmares about it and it happened 46 years ago! (I amazingly got it back, though.)

Sybil Johnson said...

Bad enough losing a sentence, but a French horn! Rick, I'd have been hyperventilating. Glad you got it back.

Donis Casey said...

This is why housecleaning is so dangerous. (I'm kidding. Kind of.) I also keep a list of ideas, though I write mine in a notebook. I have used that list many times when I find myself stuck in my WIP. I've used ideas that I've had on hold for decades.

Aline Templeton said...

Yes, Rick, dates of births. I'm never sure what's a Brit thing and what's universal!
Your story of the French horn reminded me of the wonderful Michael Flanders song - 'I once had a whim and I had to obey it to buy a French horn in second-hand shop./ I polished it up and I started to play it in spite of the neighbours who begged me to stop.' And then 'Somebody took it away...' Of course I'm sure your neighbours wouldn't feel like that at all!!

Susan D said...

Ah, those fleeting ideas. I have many many many paper notebooks from years past (somewhere), but now I track them all on my laptop. Ideas in transit? Send myself a quickie email (and boy do I look puzzled when I get them). Yes, the odd scrap of paper, but it goes into the doc the moment I get to my laptop. (Or it should, anyway.)

They are all stored in a HUGE word doc(currently 37 pages) called, appropriately, Scraps of Paper. With lots of categories, like Family Secrets, Hot Buttons, Maddening News Items, Case of Identity, People Begging to be Murdered. Easy to include links to news stories.

For story-specific thoughts, I have an e-notebook for each story or project, where I can just develop my thoughts as I go along, rambling, brainstorming, avoiding actual writing. You know how it goes.

Works for me, anyway.

Aline Templeton said...

Avoiding actual writing - oh yes, I'm with you there, Susan!

Rick Blechta said...

Sybil, I was doing a whole lot more than hyperventilating!

More about that in my post this week.

Aline, yes I know the Flanders and Swan version of the last movement of Mozart's Fourth Horn Concerto in Eb. In fact...

Vicki Delany said...

Me, I have next to nothing in the way of notes. No character bios, no physical descriptions beyond what's in the books, no backgrounds, no vague ideas jotted down to be used another time, definitely no plot outlines on sticky notes. Yes, it leads to confusion sometimes. But it's the way it is.

Sybil Johnson said...

I found it. I found the sentence. Yep wasn't as good as I thought. But I found it.

Donis Casey said...

Vicki, you must have a way better memory than I do. And Sybil, congratulations.

Vicki Delany said...

Donis, I'm just more confused.

Aline Templeton said...

Sybil, I'm so glad you found your piece of paper. It means that you can pen the truly brilliant sentence to replace it with a clear mind.